Buckle.



No. 682,586. Ph'fented Sept. l0, l90l.

- W. A. H.CROWLEY.

B U 0K L E (Application filed May 8, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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' description, in connection with the accompaed to engage the loop half-clasp 7 on the sec- .usual loops 5 to secure the same to the ends UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. H. CROWLEY, 013 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 682,586, dated September 10,1901.

Application filed May 3, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. H. CROW- LEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Buckles, of which the following nyingdrawings, isa specification, like figures on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to buckles such as are used on ladies belts; and it has for its object to provide a buckle of this class which in addition to performing its usual function will operate to hold the front portion of the waistband of the skirt at any desired height, whereby a long-waisted eifect may be produced.

With this object in view the invention comprises a skirt-holding device which may be attached to any ordinary belt-buckle, said device having a body portion provided at one end with a hook adapted to be hooked over the waistbands of both the dress-skirt and underskirt of the wearer, with the body or shank of the hook inside of the underskirtwaistband, and at the other end of said body portion is secured a flexible attaching-strap which is adapted to be adj ustably secured to any undergarment, such as the corset or other similar waist, the said hooked body thus operating to hold the waistband, at any desired height.

My device when used in connection with a belt-buckle has the nose or point of the hook thereof fastened in some suitable way to the back side of the buckle, so that when the buckle is in place no portion of the skirtholder is exposed to view.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of a buckle having my device attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a slightly-modified form of construction and showing in dotted lines the position of the device when worn. Fig. 4: is a view of the device when used without the buckle, and Fig. 5 is a View showing the slot in the nose of the hook.

The two buckle-sections 3 and 4., having the of the belt, are or may be of any approved construction, the portion or section 3 having the usual hooked half-clasp 6, which is adapt- Serial No. 58,588. (No model.)

tion 4. One of the belt-sections, preferably the section having the loop half-clasp 7, has at tached thereto in some suitable way a skirtholding device comprising a body 8, having at its lower end a flexible attaching-strap 10 of some suitable material, such as leather or fabric, and at its upper end a hook 9, the point or nose of which is fastened to the buckle-section 4. in some suitable way. 7

The attaching-strap may be provided with a series of apertures or holes 11, which are of a size to fit over the fastening-studs 30 on the corset-steels, as seen in Fig. 3, or the said attaching-strap may be provided with ordinary buttonholes to be buttoned over ordinary buttons on the underwaist, according as to -whether the device is to be used in connecy tion witha corset or waist. The hook device thus being attached to the buckle at one end and to the corset at the other end and engaging the waistbands 31 of both the dress'skirt and underskirt operates to hold the said waistbandsand skirt in proper position, and by adjusting the point of attachment between the waist and attaching-strap the front portion of the waistband of the skirt may be drawn down to produce a long-waisted effect.

Various ways of connecting the hook device to the buckle may be employed, and in Fig. 1 I have shown the said hook device as being madeintegral with the section 4. of the buckle, the loop 7 for the clasp 6 being formed in the nose of the hook. 1

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated another form of my device wherein the hook device is detachably secured to the buckle. For this purpose the nose or point 12 thereof has suspended therefrom a loop 13, of wire or other suitable material, which is adapted to receive the loop or half-clasp 7 on the portion 4. of the beltbuckle, as plainly seen in Fig. 3. When the device is in use, the loop 7 is slipped through the wire loop 13 and the half-clasp 6 passed the waistband of the skirt and secured to the as above described.

corset or other waist, as above described, and one end 40 of the ribbon or other belt will be passed through the loop 13, (see Fig. 4,) the other end of the ribbon being crossed over the front of the loop and pinned in position, thus hiding the loop 13 from view, as shown in dotted lines.

When the device is used without the buckle, it is desirable to prevent the upper portion and nose 12 of the hook, which appears above and on the outside of the waistband of the skirt, from being exposed, and I therefore adjnstably secure the loop 13 through the nose 12 of the hook preferably by making the said nose with the angular slot 15, forming at either end thereof seats 16, in which the loop 13 rests, the slot being so shaped as to form an angular horn 17, which when the loop is in the upper seat 16 will prevent the samefrombeingdisengagedtherefrom. WVith the loop in the upper seat 16 and with one end of the ribbon or belt passed through the said loop and the other end pinned over it the skirt-holding device will be entirely hidden from View. To stiffen the neck of the hook, I may provide the same with a longitudinal corrugation 19, running from the ends thereof to the body portion 8.

Preferably the body portion or shank 8 of the hook will be provided with oppositelyextending wings 20, which operate, as hereinafter described, to hold the dress-waist 33 down. For this purpose that portion of the dress-waist which is covered by the waistband of the skirt will be provided with suitable buttonholes 34 of a size to fit the shank or body portion 8 of the hook, and when in use the said skirt-holding device will have its hook passed over the waistband of the skirt, as above described, and the shank 8 thereof will be passed through the buttonholes in the dress-waist or shirt-waist, the attachingstrap 11 being secured to an undergarment, The wings 20, wider than the buttonholes 34 in the dress-waist, engage the sides of the same, as seen in Fig. 3, and the device therefore operates not only to hold the front portion of the waistband of the dress-skirt down to produce the longwaisted effect, but also securely holds the lower portion of the dress-waist in position. The position of the wings 20 on the body portion 8 is such that the buttonholes in the dress-waist are far enough below the top of the skirt-waistband so that the said buttonholes will not show even when they are subjected to considerable strain.

Various modifications may be made in the structure of the device without altering the scope of the invention, and it will be obvious that my invention may be applied to any form of buckle or to a pin or other ornament which is worn upon the belt, and although I have illustrated in my drawings a two-part buckle, yet I do not wish to be limited thereto.

Having described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Abucklecomprisingtwobuckle-sections adapted to be clasped together, one of said sections having attached thereto a hookshaped member adapted to be hooked over the waistband of a skirt, and a flexible attachin g-strap secured to said member and adapted to be secured to an undergarment.

2. Abucklecomprisingtwobuckle-sections adapted to be clasped together, one of said sections having detachably secured thereto a hook-shaped member adapted to be hooked over the waistband of a skirt, a flexible attaching-strap secured to said member and adapted to be secured to an undergarment.

3. A buckle compri sin gtwo buckle-sections adapted to be clasped together, one of said sections having a hook-shaped member attached thereto, and a flexible attaching-strap secured to said member, and adapted to be secured to an undergarment, said hook-shaped member having oppositely-disposed win gs extended from its body portion, whereby when said body portion is inserted through a buttonhole in the dress-waist of the wearer, the attachingstrap operates to hold both the waistband of the skirt and the dress-waist in position.

4. A fastening device for skirts comprising a body having a hook at one end adapted to be hooked over the waistband of a skirt, and a flexible attaching-strap secured to the other end thereof, said attaching strap having means for adjustably securing the same to a corset or undergarment, and said body having wings projecting from the opposite sides thereof, whereby when the said body is inserted through buttonholes in the dress-waist of the wearer the attaching-strap operates to hold both the waistband of the skirt and the dress-waist in position.

5. A fastening device for skirts, comprising a body having a hook at one end adapted to be hooked over the waistband of a skirt, and a flexible attaching-strap secured to the other end, said attaching-strap having means to adj ustably secure the same to a corset or underwaist, and a loop member connected to the hooked end of said device.

6. A buckle having a hook-shaped member attached thereto and adapted to be hooked over the waistband of a skirt, and a flexible attaching-strap secured to said member and adapted to be secured to a corset or underwaist.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM A. H. CROWLEY.

Witnesses:

LoUIs 0. SMITH, JOHN C. EDWARDS. 

